Save A Logan, Buy A Pony
by Sarah's Crack
Summary: They may fight, but Logan and Veronica still care about each other. They just have...a strange way of showing it.


**Title:** Save A Logan, Buy A Pony  
**Author:** Sarah :)  
**Pairing:** Logan/Veronica  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Spoilers:** Through 2x16, _The Rapes Of Graff_  
**Word Count:** 3158  
**Summary:** They may fight, but Logan and Veronica still care about each other. They just have...a _strange_ way of showing it.  
**Disclaimer:** Not mine. Duh.  
**Thanks:** Not only did **herowlness** beta this on super short notice, but she really (and by 'really' I mean 'reallyreallyREALLY') helped me out with the beginning, since I was having major problems making this into an alternate-but-not-so-alternate fic. Seriously, this 'what if' concept is harder than it looks :P. Not to mention that she's STILL the one to blame for the original fic. I love you, Lizzy :)!  
**Notes:** This was written for the **vm whatif** challenge. It's an alternate version of Save A Pony, Ride A Logan, which was my first VM fic EVER, and will always hold a special place in my heart :). Basically, there's no plot here. Or...much of anything. Just some good old fashioned toy crack, to complement the original toy crack ;). My prompt is located at the end of the fic.

--

The door was locked.

Not that it was that big of a surprise, of course, given that neither of the Mars' cars were in the parking lot, but Logan wasn't going to let a detail that small stand in his way. After all, Veronica had made the mistake of teaching him how to pick simple locks during their brief romance the previous summer.

Quickly pulling one of his many platinum credit cards from his wallet, he made quick work of the locked door. Seriously, you'd think that a family as into privacy invasion as the Mars' were would have at least a dead bolt or two on their front door. Logan shrugged and walked into the apartment cautiously.

"Hello? Is anyone home?"

No response. Mr. Mars was probably still at work or something. Private investigators had to pull long hours, right? Meaning that Veronica would be back from her weekend at Hearst before he came home? Maybe? Because somehow, Logan doubted that Mr. Mars would be happy to discover that he had broken into their apartment. Really, it just meant that Veronica was a very good teacher, and that wasn't a bad thing. Or so he tried to reassure himself.

Okay, so maybe Logan had reciprocated and taught Veronica some things that Mr. Mars would be much better off never knowing about. Ever. And the best way to do that, obviously, would be to avoid Veronica's father.

No, Veronica's room was definitely the only place that he could hide out with any sort of secrecy. Mr. Mars wouldn't walk into his daughter's room without warning, right?

God, he hoped not.

Closing the bedroom door, he realized that Veronica might kill him if she found him going through her things. Even though that would be a step up from where they'd been lately, since she had been ignoring him for the better part of a week, he'd just sit on her bed and not touch anything. Or leave any fingerprints, at any rate. With any luck, she would be back from Hearst soon. After all, no matter what Troy might have said when he called Logan out of the blue the week before, the guy was basically all talk - especially when it came to Veronica. There was no way that she'd want to have anything to do with him.

Logan kept repeating that mantra to himself over and over again.

For Troy's own sake, Logan hoped he was staying far, far away from Veronica. It wouldn't be much fun for the guy to be breathing through a tube for the next few months. And going through graduation with an oxygen tank beneath his gown wouldn't be much better.

Logan leaned his head against Veronica's bedroom wall, content to sit and wait. That's when he saw it - a strand of bright green...hair? He stood up and moved closer, cautiously inching her closet door open, dancing on the thin line between searching through Veronica's stuff and trying to determine if this could possibly the gift that he had given Veronica years ago. Before the era of Logan/Lilly and Veronica/Duncan, before his father was a murderer. Before...everything. When they were both still relatively innocent kids, and a stupid My Little Pony could make all of Veronica's problems go away.

It all seemed like such a long time ago.

Cradling the toy in his hands, Logan didn't hear the front door open, or the footsteps coming down the hallway.

"Logan?" Veronica frowned and scanned the room. "How did you get in? And what are you doing here?"

"Veronica!" Logan scrambled to his feet, quickly shoving the incriminating material back in the closet. "I...came here to talk to you." He looked around wildly, noting the sleeping canine that rested at the foot of Veronica's bed. "Back-up let me in. Opposable thumbs be damned."

"You're lucky I wasn't my Dad. He'd kill you." Veronica wearily settled herself in her desk chair. "So? You came here to talk, Logan. Start talking."

He fell back onto the bed, avidly avoiding Veronica's gaze. "I just came over here to apologize."

She blanched. Out of everything she had been expecting...well, that wasn't it.

"Huh?"

Logan shrugged his shoulders and leaned back, effecting casual. "Look, Veronica. I didn't come here to pick a fight. I've just been thinking about how things have been lately, with your whole invisible woman routine, and I wanted to make sure...everything was okay with you."

Veronica's face softened noticeably, and she struggled to form an answer. Before she could speak, Logan pulled something out of the back pocket of his jeans and thrust his hands forward. "And there's this..."

Whatever semblance of sympathy she had been gathering quickly turned to anger. Veronica looked at the item in his hands and frowned. "What's that?"

"You know." Logan shrugged. "The pony you gave me. After the party..." He trailed off, eyes fixed on the floor.

"What are you doing with it now?" Her voice was quiet.

"Giving it back." He thrust the little plastic figure of a pony towards her.

"Why?" Hurt blossomed over Veronica's face as she plucked the toy from Logan's hand.

--

_"Dude, I totally wish I had been there. Next time, invite me over, man. I mean, she like, stabbed him right there? In front of everyone? That must have been _sweet_." Dick shook his head wistfully as he clapped Logan heartily on the back. "So, how much blood was there? Did your mom pass out?" Turning to John Enbom, he winked. "I'll bet you could totally see up her dress. Fuck." _

As Dick and Enbom laughed, Logan stopped walking, silently watching them as they continued down the hall. With a growl, he smashed his fist into his locker, reveling in the shooting pain that radiated through his arm. Tearing through the newspaper clippings plastered across the front, articles that detailed his father's infidelities and the stabbing the evening before, Logan opened the lock and threw his books in. Something small and yellow caught his attention, and he gingerly brought the item up to his eye level, staring at it intently.

It was a My Little Pony.

Knowing instantly who had put it there, Logan glanced around the hallway quickly before shoving it in his pocket. He was having one of the shittiest days ever, whatever semblance he had had of a family life had gone to pieces the night before, he had just lost a lot of money in poker, and yet--he felt strangely comforted. Like things just might be okay after all.

When Veronica walked by him in the hall later, a sympathetic smile on her face, Logan sneered at her and insulted her parentage. Even though she had been at his house during the Christmas party when everything went down...even though she had waited with him while the ambulance came...even though she had kept him away from the prying eyes of the press...he couldn't bring himself to acknowledge that something might have changed in their relationship. Targeting Veronica was easy. Insulting her was like therapy. It was all he knew how to do anymore. Instead of the biting reply he had been banking on, though, she merely shook her head sadly and continued on.

That wasn't supposed to happen.

Hurting Veronica was normal. It was routine. If he could just get back into his routine, he could regain some control of his life. She wasn't supposed to feel bad for him. She wasn't supposed to want to help him.

His hand grasped the plastic pony in his pocket, and Logan sighed.

Wanting to help him was bad enough. The fact that she actually succeeded_ was even worse._

_--_

"I don't need it anymore." Logan eyed Veronica's tight grip on the yellow figurine. "Especially now that we...I don't know. Hate each other again or whatever. I shouldn't have it." He scratched the back of his head almost bashfully and avoided making eye contact. "She's your favorite, right? The one that your mom gave you after - "

"Dad got hurt for the first time on the force. Yeah. That's why I..." Veronica trailed off uncomfortably. "I know it wasn't much, but I thought it would help."

"It did," Logan added quickly. "But I don't deserve...I'm making a clean break here, Veronica. You don't want to have anything to do with me, fine, but I can't keep hanging onto...anything. We're both graduating soon, and moving on with our lives, so..." He nodded at her. "Take it."

"That's how it's going to be? I avoid you for a week so we don't have another one of our blowouts, and you're just going to cut me out of your life for good?"

"Oh, please, Veronica," Logan spat back. "Like you haven't been doing the same thing since you broke up with me last summer? Don't play the martyr here. This is what _you_ wanted."

"Well, _fine_, then. Be that way!" Veronica stomped over to her dresser and wrenched the top drawer open. After a moment of searching she found what she was looking for. Turning to Logan, fury blazing in her eyes, she threw the plastic G.I. Joe figurine. At his head.

"What the _fuck_, Veronica?" Logan rubbed his head.

"If that's how you want to play, then you can have it back! I never even liked it, anyway." As she spoke, Logan bent down and reclaimed the action figure from the floor.

"What's this?"

"What do you MEAN what is it? You know what it is, Logan. You gave to it to me when my dad was in the hospital last summer, after Aaron...after that night. Come on. You don't remember that?"

"Nope. Can't say that I do." Logan effected casual, threading his thumbs through the belt loops on his jeans. "So, uh, why would you think I gave it to you?"

"Gee, let me think. Maybe because I found it on my doorstep a few days after he went into the hospital? You know, the day _you_ got out of the hospital? Remember that, Logan?"

"Uh, yeah. But I didn't - I mean, I wouldn't...That was right after you turned me into the cops, Veronica. I wasn't really in the mood to do anything nice for you just then."

"Right, because there's someone _else_ in Neptune who would leave their favorite G.I. Joe outside my apartment."

"It's Snake Eyes," Logan mumbled, dropping the toy on the floor again, suddenly becoming very interested in studying the back of his hand.

"What?"

"It's not G.I. Joe. It's Snake Eyes. If you're going to accuse me of doing something, at least get his name right. Seriously, Veronica."

"Fine. So it's just coincidence when _my_ dad got hurt, _Snake Eyes_ showed up?"

"Yeah?" Logan didn't look like he quite believed himself.

Veronica snorted. "Fine. You came here to do what you needed to, so just get out before my dad catches you here."

"I was just going," Logan countered, backing towards her bedroom door. Pausing before he exited the room, he lowered his voice. "Theoretically, though. If I _did_ happen to leave something for you after your dad got hurt. Did it...did it help? I mean, not My Little Pony help, obviously, but there was no way I was buying one of those..." He trailed off, unsure.

"Well, theoretically, it did," she answered, a small smile on her face. "Because even though a certain someone wasn't talking to me, getting some sign that things might be okay between us...helped. A lot." Moving closer to him, she caught his gaze. "Thanks, Logan."

"What?" He held his hands in front of him defensively. "I didn't say it was me, Veronica." He watched as she picked the toy up off of the floor and offered it to him. "I'm not taking it."

"Yet I'm supposed to want this back?" She waved the yellow pony in front of his face. "Way to live by the double standard, Logan. You're allowed to cut all ties and not care anymore, but you won't let me? How is _that_ fair?"

"I didn't mean..."

"Maybe you don't want him back because he's gay," Veronica mused, turning the action figure over in her hand. "I mean, that mask with those pants? Please."

"Are you fucking _kidding_ me, Veronica? Snake Eyes is like, the epitome of manhood. I mean, if you have a problem with Snake Eyes, then you have a problem with me." Logan's voice shook with anger, and Veronica couldn't help but laugh bitterly.

"Should I be offended that you treat that action figure better than you treat the people around you?" She shook her head. "I guess I should have expected it, though. It's nice to know where I stand."

"Veronica, you've treated me like shit since we broke up. You don't get to play the bigger person, here. I just can't _stand_ you when..." He looked away from her, pain evident in his eyes.

"What _else_ can't you stand about me? Might as well let it all out, Logan, if this is going to be the last time we get to fight like this. I know that I, for one, am going to miss the constant berating."

"Oh, Veronica, you wound me." Logan placed a hand over his heart as if he was in pain. "You want to know what I think? I think that ever since you started dating Duncan again - "

"And then it comes out. That's what this is about, isn't it? God, Logan, you need to get over yourself."

"Might want to practice what you preach."

Scathing retort on the tip of her tongue, Veronica bit her lower lip and shook her head sadly. "This is stupid. Why are we doing this, Logan?"

He paused. "I don't know. You started it."

Her jaw dropped. "How is this _my_ fault?"

Logan shrugged. "If you hadn't insulted Snake Eyes, I totally would have just left. You baited me on purpose."

As the ridiculousness of his statement set in, they both began to laugh, their eyes meeting through their amusement.

"Why'd you really come here?" Veronica asked quietly.

"I told you, I wanted to - " Taking in her arched eyebrow, Logan rolled his eyes. "Fine. I don't want to cut you completely out of my life. Happy?"

Moving her hands up and down on either side of her as if weighing her options, Veronica looked thoughtful. After a moment, she smiled brightly. "Actually, as weird as it may seem...yeah, I am."

It was Logan's turn to quirk an eyebrow.

"So I take it you don't despise me with every fiber of your being? Contrary to outward appearances?"

Her smile wavered, and Veronica sighed deeply. "Look, Logan. I know things have been...bad between us. But I never meant for them to go this far. And then everything happened so fast, and then there was Duncan, and..."

"...and I didn't make it any easier for you. I know." Logan winked at her. "It's kind of hot when you play hard to get, anyway."

"You mean you're - you're not mad at me?" She stared at him in disbelief.

"No more mad than you can be at me. Come on, Veronica. We fight. That's what we _do_. I figure one of our fights is about ten times as hot as when you and Duncan -"

"Okay. Point taken." Veronica cringed inwardly. "Anyway. We're...okay now?"

Logan looked over at her and moved his hand to gently cup her cheek. "Yeah. I'd say we're fine." Gently, as if he was waiting for her to pull away, he leaned in and kissed her. Veronica did the opposite, however, and soon the two were clawing at each other heatedly, their hands and lips trying to apologize for the previous months of animosity.

Pulling away reluctantly, Veronica panted heavily, her lips still tingling from Logan's mouth.

"Just one thing." On Logan's horrified look, she continued quickly. "You're not planning to run off with anyone's coma baby, right? Because if I have to go through _that_ again..."

Shaking his head in relief, Logan's hands moved around Veronica's waist as he pulled them towards her bed. "Not to my knowledge." He backed away from her slightly and moved his eyes up and down her body, focusing in on her stomach. "Unless there's something you're not telling me..."

"Loser." Shoving him away playfully, Logan took hold of her hand until they were both on her bed, his larger frame pinning her beneath him.

"Hey! I had to cover my bases," he protested, trailing light kisses along her jawline. His hands snaked underneath her shirt, causing Veronica to moan loudly. Both of them were so absorbed in each other that neither of them heard the set of footsteps pounding down the hall.

"Veronica? Are you okay?" Keith flung the bedroom door open, causing Logan and Veronica to still themselves in shock. Breaking apart frantically, Veronica quickly smoothed down the front of her shirt, unable to meet her father's eyes.

"Um, hi Dad. Logan and I were just -"

"I don't need to hear it. I'm going to go into the kitchen and start dinner, and pretend I didn't see..." He winced. "Then when you're ready you can explain to me what's going on." Backing out of the room, Keith shut the door tightly behind him.

The two teenagers sat on Veronica's bed in silence for a few moments before she dropped her head into her hands and groaned. "Well, I guess I don't need to tell him that we're back together now," she sighed.

"Wow," Logan finally spoke. "That was...awkward."

Veronica smacked him on the arm and rolled her eyes. "Wait here for a second. Let me do some damage control." She leaned in and laid a chaste kiss on his cheek. "It'll be fine. I mean, he can't kill me. I'm his progeny!"

"And what, exactly, does that mean for me, then?"

She scrunched her nose in thought. "Good point. Better give me _two_ seconds." Growing serious, she reached for his hand, tangling her fingers with his. "Don't worry. I can handle my dad. You just think about how much you're going to kiss his ass, okay?"

He nodded. "I think I can manage that."

Kissing him once more, Veronica moved to the doorway of her room, waving shyly before disappearing into the hallway. Logan stood still for a few seconds, not quite believing what had take place in the previous few minutes.

Picking up the yellow pony from where it had been thrown on the floor, Logan ran a finger through it's mane and smiled.

"Hey. It looks like you were right. Coming over here today _was_ a good idea." Tucking the toy in his pocket, he nodded in satisfaction. "You _are_ good luck. Thanks, man. Pony. Whatever."

When he heard Veronica call his name, he took a deep breath and started for the door. "Now," he spoke, his fingers in his pocket, still gripping the pony. "How are you at dealing with parents?"

--

**My prompt:** _What if after Logan's dad was stabbed (AEFC), Logan found a My Little Pony in his locker?_


End file.
